Nutritional needs of athletes

What are the nutritional needs of athletes?

"Eat to compete" has become something of a rallying cry among both amateur and professional athletes. Health food stores and sports shops offer a variety of ergogenic (performance-enhancing) vitamin supplements and concoctions of ingredients such as amino acids, bull testicle extracts, ginseng, and bee pollen. Do these products really enhance athletic performance? Nutrition researchers insist they do not.
The same principles of moderation, variety, and balance that characterize good nutrition for the general population also apply to athletes. Contrary to popular belief, vitamins and minerals do not provide energy, but they are necessary in adequate amounts to properly metabolize the body's real sources of energy — carbohydrates, fats, and protein. Still, athletes require more of certain nutrients than their sedentary counterparts.

Why is nutrition important to athletes?

Without an adequate reserve of energy, an athlete simply cannot perform at his or her peak ability. The human body has about 600 groups of muscles, which are made up of millions of tiny elastic fibers. Depending upon the sport, a conditioned athlete may double his or her muscle mass. Working and maintaining this increased muscle mass requires extra calories. The type of exercise determines what sort of energy reserve is needed. Glucose (blood sugar), which is most readily derived from carbohydrates, is the body's major fuel. Fatty acids can also be burned directly, or converted to glucose. Protein is used mostly to repair and maintain muscle tissue, but it also can be converted to glucose to meet energy needs.

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